The District of Columbia government continued its reform initiatives this year in the long struggle to improve services and supports to people with developmental disabilities. Elevating the performance of the Department on Disability Services and the contracted providers who support people receiving services has been a primary focus of reforms over the past several years. Quality Trust’s data indicates progress in several areas. Still, there remain significant hurdles to overcome before we can be certain that lasting advancements have been achieved. Functional, well-coordinated, partnerships between the Department on Disability Services, the Department of Healthcare Finance, and the Health Regulatory and Licensing Administration are also necessary for long term sustainable progress. In the end, we expect that the performance of providers will be the single most important variable in improving the day to day lives of people with developmental disabilities.

This report focuses on the services and supports provided to non Evans class members who reside outside the family home. Our tool and the manner in which we complete our work though are closely aligned with that used by the Evans Court Monitor and the Joint Monitoring teams who are reviewing specific services provided to Evans class members.